Chapter 4:

Reaad, revieewwww, enjoooy

Sadly I don't own N2N. I own tickets! And playbills! But I don't think that counts

Sorry that it's been a while, I'm in California (I'm from Jersey) seeing the last few performances of RENT: The Broadway Tour!!!




Henry had his arm around Natalie in the waiting room, as they sat with a few other women and couples. Un-entertaining music played in the background.

"This music sucks." Henry said. Natalie rolled her eyes, and flipped through a magazine. Henry found one on the table next to him called "New Dad" and started reading, when a nurse came through the door.

"Natalie Goodman." She said. They both nervously stood up and followed the nurse down the hallway towards and examining room. "Dr. Fine will be with you in a moment." (--- it's not what you think ;)) Natalie sat down on the exam table and Henry sat down in a chair.

"Dr. Fine, why does that name sound familiar?" Natalie asked. Henry shrugged. "You okay?" Natalie asked him.

"Yeah." Henry said, just as a pretty brunette lady walked in with a clipboard.

"Hello Miss Goodman..."

"Natalie, please." Natalie said quickly.

"Okay then Natalie, I'm Dr. Fine, and I presume you're her boyfriend." Dr. Fine said, putting on some hand sanitizer and then gesturing towards Henry smiling.

"Uh yeah, Henry." He said, and they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you both. First of all, I just want to get it out there that I totally understand that being pregnant for the first time can be a scary experience in its self, but it can be especially scary when you're on the younger side. I get it, everything's confusing but I've been in the medical proffession for years, my whole family is in the buisness, my husband is in psycho-therapy... I know what I'm doing and I'm here to help make this experience as easy and comfortable for you as possible." She said friendlyly. Natalie nodded and timidly smiled, as did Henry. Dr. Fine smiled. "Okay, let me start out with a few questions..." Both Henry and Natalie took in deep breaths, preparing themselves to tell this totaly stranger all about their sex lives.....



"That wasn't so bad." Henry said as they were walking out.

"Yeah I mean I feel a little less clueless now." Natalie said and they both chuckled.

"Yeah me too." Henry agreed, slipping an arm around her waist.

"So we come back in 3 weeks?" Henry asked her.

"Yeah, well I do, you don't have to come to all of the appointments."

"No, I want to." Henry said simply and genuinly. He stopped walking and turned Natalie towards him, and kissed her gently. "You have to back to work tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah." Natalie whispered. "I guess I have to tell them, at least I can probably still work a while into the pregnancy, my job's not exactly physically demanding." She kissed Henry again.

"Yeah but it doesn't matter how physically demanding it is, when Dr. Madden says you can't work anymore you can't work." He warned. Natalie laughed. "C'mon Nat you know you thrive on being busy and doing work, if you're not doing something you'll go mad. I'll buy you some sudoku books." Natalie laughed, smiling brightly in a way that you rarely found her smiling. It made Henry think of how much things had changed since high school - in just 14 short years his OWN kid would be in high school. He started staring into space thinking about how real it all was becoming.

"Henry, hello?" Natalie asked, waving a hand in front of his face. He looked back at her and smiled.

"Let's go to barnes and noble, they have word search books, crosswords, AND sudoku!!" He exclaimed happily. Natalie poked his ribs and he spazzed the way that he always does when being poked or tickled, and once he "recovered" he put an arm around Natalie's shoulder and they headed back home.




The next day Henry was at work and Natalie was hanging around the house, paying some bills. RING! RING! She jumped at the sound, but than got up and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Natalie!" A high pitched, all too peppy, familiar voice cried.

"OH MY GOD." Natalie thought. It was her cousin Kate. Her older, UCLA, ditzy, sunshiny, hyper, every other quality in a person that Natalie can't stand, cousin Kate. "Uh Kate! Hey!" She said, trying not to sound rude.

"How are you Natty cakes!?" Natalie cringed and her grip on the phone tightened. "

"Glorious." She sput out. "How bout you?"

"Oh I am just too wonderful for words, but I have somee news!" Suddenly a sharp cramp shot through Natalie's stomach, this had been happening all the time. She was really starting to enter the hellish realm of pregnancy.

"Oh do you?" She asked with a sarcastic enthuisiasm, knowing that Kate would be too stupid to catch her attitude.

"I do! I'm coming to New York!" Natalie's eyes bugged out and another shooting pain went through her stomach.

"O-M-G! No way! When!??!?!!" She cried.

"Two days! So I can finally meet Henry! When I told Uncle Dan he said you wouldn't mine me staying with you guys, just for the weekend, but I don't want to impose..."

"Fuck you Dad." Natalie thought. "Of course you can stay with us, Henry has heard all about you, he's dying to meet you!"

"Yay! Okay so I'll talk to you later when I finish booking my flights and stuff!"

"Great." Natalie replied.

"Byee!!!" Natalie slammed the phone down in the receiver, another pain going through her stomach, as Henry walked through the door with a brown paper bag.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Natalie shook her head.

"What's that?"

"I came home for lunch, grabbed you some stuff from that restaraunt and 44th that you like." Natalie nodded.

"Thanks."

"No problem, so what's going on? Who was on the phone?" Henry asked, getting the food out of the bag. Natalie sighed,

"My stupid..." And a jolt went through her stomach, she knew what this meant, and she ran for the bathroom, leaning over the toilet. Henry followed her, he felt awful she had to go through this. He kneeled down next to her, and rubbed her back as she emptied her stomach.

"I'm sorry Nat, I know this sucks." He said gently, pushing a strand of her curly brown hair behind her ear. She finished and stood up.

"I think I'm gonna call in sick today." She said. Henry nodded.

"Feel good enough to eat?" Henry asked. Natalie shook her head.

"Oh and bye the way, remember me ever telling you about my cousin Kate." Henry though for a second.

"The one you can't stand, who got drunk off her ass at your aunt's wedding last year." He said. Natalie nodded and rolled her eyes.

"She's staying with us over the weekend. ''Uncle Dan!"" She said immitating Kate's voice. "Told her we'd be happy to have her." Natalie said. Henry smiled.

"Okay, that's fine...."

"NO. IT'S NOT!" Natalie yelled.

"Okay, it's just for the weekend Natalie! We can go somewhere, I'll take you to a movie or a show or something."

"She'll follow us!" Natalie yelled, half kidding. Henry laughed.

"I can hook her up with one of my friends."

"No because then she'll marry him and move here and we'll have to deal with her everyday!" Natalie cried, now totally kidding and cracking up, Henry laughed with her. "Oh God, 3 days of Kate. God help me." Natalie muttered as Henry pulled her into an embrace.




Natalie was laying on the couch in the living room, a pillow over her face groaning in agony. Henry came out of the bathroom, his hair still a little damp from his shower.

"Does your stomach still hurt? Here I'll get you some advil...."

"NO. IT'S NOT MY STOMACH." Natalie moaned.

"Then wha...."

"IT'S HER. WE HAVE 15 MINU..."

DING DONG!

"She's here." Natalie whispered angrily, taking the pillow off her face. Henry chuckled as Natalie got up to get the door and let Kate in. She twisted the doorknob and swung it open cautiously, smiling fakely as a bombshell blonde tackled her with a hug.

"OMG Natalieeeee!" Kate cried. Natalie tensely hugged her back.

"Hey." She said.

"O-m-g we have not talked in like forever! You've gotten so pretttttty, and Uncle Dan told me the big news! You're showing!" Kate said happily, pointing at Natalie's stomach. Henry's jaw dropped and Natalie's fingers curled up as she rigidly smiled at her cousin.

"I'm only 4 weeks pregnant. I AM NOT SHOWING!" She yelled, and Henry rushed over before Natalie went ballistic on hormones - he learned his lesson just a few hours ago.

"Kate, I'm Henry it's so nice to finally meet you, let me take your coat." He said kindly, Kate shook his hand and gave him her coat.

"I've heard SO much about you!" She exclaimed. "Oh Nat he's cute, deffinately a keeper! Well I guess now you've already claimed him huh?" Kate asked, obviously reffering to a marriage between the two. Again, Henry spoke to keep peace between the cousins.

"We're actually not getting married, well not NOW. We just want to wait a little while, until funds aren't so tight." He suggested. Kate nodded, hesitantely.

"Oh, so you'll get married after the baby is born?" Kate asked. Natalie and Henry nodded. "Oh." Kate said. The three settled down on the couch with some sprites and chatted, peacefully. "So Henryyyy, got any cute friends looking for a date this weekend?" Kate asked, winking.

"Henry doesn't have friends." Natalie said, wanting to see just how far she could push Kate's stupidity.

"Natalie MEANS that uhm.." Henry saw what Natalie was doing, and as long as it kept her in a good mood he was willing to play along. "..that uhm, I don't have many friends HERE - I went to Harvard, most of my buddies are up there." Kate's jaw dropped.

"Uncle Dan didn't tell me you went to HARVARD. That's like a really good school." Natalie snorted.

"Yeah kind of." She added. Kate nodded

"What are you doing about work Natty-kins?" Natalie grinned and beared it

"I'll be able to keep going until the last few weeks." She replied. Kate nodded and smiled.

"OMG I'm so excited for this weekend just the three of us it's gonna be like the best weekend like..EVER!" Kate cried, clapping with joy. Natalie clapped too and Henry winked at her, as long as she was happy......




Natalie and Henry laid in bed, listening to the obnoxious snoring coming from the pullout couch in the living room.

"Remind me to call my father and murder him." Natalie whispered. Henry chuckled, and ran his fingers up and down her arm.

"It's not so bad, at least she's entertaining." He whispered back, and kissed Natalie's temple. "Have you been feeling sick?"

"Not really anymore, thank god." He kissed her again.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, and I'm sorry you'll probably have to go through so much more pain through this later on. I wish I could do it for you." Natalie laughed.

"No, trust me you don't." She laid her head against his chest and was lulled to sleep by its gentle rising and falling.


Kate left on Sunday, making a very teary and dramatic exit, and as soon as the door was shut Natalie ran to the phone and dialed her Dad's number.

"Hello?"

"I. HATE. YOU!"

"OH c'mon she couldn't have been that bad." Henry grabbed the phone

"She wasn't Mr. Goodman..." Natalie snatched it back.

"She's like the devil." She growled. Dan laughed heartily

"How have you been feeling Nat? You went to the doctor right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I know it was slightly disastrous last time but we miss you, how bout you guys come up next weekend?" Natalie took a deep breath and looked at Henry who nodded.

"Okay, my doctor's appoitment is Friday afternoon, we'll drive up from there."

"Sounds good honey, I promise it will be fine this time."

"Kay bye Dad."

"I love you honey."

"Love you too." She hung up the phone.

"How does Kate not drive you absolutely crazy?" She demanded. Henry shrugged, and suddenly Natalie got a look on her face.

"Uh-oh this is the crazy hormone face." Henry thought, as Natalie's eyes filled up with tears and she cried out.

"It's because she's prettier than me! She's blonde and tall and tan and has huge fake boobs! Meanwhile I'm just your fat pregnant girlfriend!" She wailed. Henry sighed and put a hand on her back.

"C'mon Nat, you know that's not true." He said calmly.

"So you think she's ugly?!??!" Natalie asked.

"Well she definately isn't UGLY...." Natalie wailed out again.

"I'm fat, and I'm just gonna get fatter like a fucking whale! So you go be with her, the big boobed bitch!" Henry smoothed her hair, and hugged her.

"Natalie you're NOT fat, and so what you're gonna gain some weight, you're still beautiful, I'll still love you. C'mon don't cry..."

"You think she's hot!" Natalie cried. "She's always been prettier than me...."

"I don't Nat really, she's nothing compared to you. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever known." He whispered, and she calmed down a bit.

"No I'm not." She said queitly.

"Oh yes you are." Henry kissed the top of her head. "I love you, more than anything." He whispered in her ear. She smiled and kissed him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Review please!!!