7. tiny hands, tiny feet.
'So the appointment is at 4, straight after school, out and in the car ok? We don't want to be late' Nikki reminded tom for the 3rd time that morning, as she spoke she pointed the car keys at him, emphasising her words.
Tom put his hands around her waist, and pulled her close silencing her with a kiss.
'I wouldn't miss it for the world' he told her moving his hand across her abdomen.
She smiled but he could tell she was nervous; what if there was something wrong?
She turned away from him and made her way out to the car feeling Tom's comforting hand on her shoulder.
Nikki had thought of anything else all day other than the little life she was supporting, the day had been a blur, she vaguely recalled Barry Barry making a few sarcastic comments, nothing out of the ordinary. Now she was sat next to Tom in the hospital waiting room. It was humid which emphasised the smell of hospital which would linger in their nostrils long after they had left. The walls were white and there was nothing really attractive or eye catching other than the unintentionally passive aggressive posters that were hung around the waiting room. Tom rubbed Nikki's thigh reassuringly but the human contact brought her out of the trance, causing her to jump slightly.
'Nikki Boston?' the receptionist spoke her name softly and Nikki nodded, her stomach swirling with nerves and excitement, about to see their child for the very first time. She followed the nurse down the corridor to the small room. Tom gripped her hand tightly, he hadn't shown it before now but she was beginning to see that he was just as nervous as she was.
Nikki lay down on the bed and lifted her shirt revealing the slight curvature that came with being 12 weeks pregnant. Tom edged closer to her watching as the cold Jelly was squeezed on to her stomach. She winced Tom assumed at the temperature; she wasn't expecting it to be as cold as it was.
After what seemed like a lifetime the nurse was satisfied with what she saw she turned the screen round to face the parents-to-be. It was then that Tom realised that he had barely breathed since Nikki lay down; he let out a sigh of relief once again placing his hand in hers as they looked at their baby. The features were quite clear despite only being at this early stage. Nikki was transfixed, her eyes glued to the picture on the screen, the tiny hands and feet. He glanced towards her, a single tear rolled down her cheek yet when she turned to him she was beaming.
The nurse handed over a photo of the scan, Nikki finally removed her hand from Tom's grasp and gripped hold of the scan with both hands staring at it for a few moments. He watched her absorbedly although he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Tom leant over her and pushed her hair back behind her ears to keep it out of her face and kissed her softly on the lips before pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head.
'I do love you Nikki Boston'.
